Birthday Greetings From Zefat

it is 9:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat.  it is my birthday tonight.  that's right.  i turn 63.  i feel much older then that unfortunately.  we are having an intense heatwave.  it was nearly unbearable this shabbat without airconditioning.  my unit gave out a while ago and there just isn't any money to replace it.  i only use it a few days in the summer anyway.  it is usually cool at night in zefat.

i had to babysit both kids on friday so i did most of the cooking on thursday.  i woke up at 6:00 a.m. and washed the floors.  you wouldn't know it by how it looks now.  they are trashed.  i made piquant fish, chicken wings, turkey meatballs, chicken cutlets, potato kugel, wheat berries, and two types of eggplant salads.  i even baked a very moist chocolate cake.  the kids returned home at 5:00 p.m. and i made a raw salad with cabbage, cucumbers and carrots.

there is a clan family wedding tomorrow night in hadera.  i decided not to go.  i was supposed to baby sit the grand daughter but lucky me, i'm off the hook. the daughter-in-law decided to take her to the wedding.  i just do not have the energy to schlep out for this wedding.  i went to an outdoor wedding on thursday night but it was very close to home.  in fact, i got a ride home and it took about fifteen minutes in total.  i am not in the best shape these days.  dancing doesn't come easy to me.  i sat with old friends the other night and no one was doing much dancing.  we had a good schmooze session and got caught up with each others lives.

i met a lady from my old neighborhood in flatbush..  we even went to the same public school.  how cool is that!  we spent the night reminiscing.  it was wonderful to get out and see friends again.  i have been in isolation mode for years.  i actually became phobic around people.  i conquered my fears, and just went out.  i had a pretty bad eye infection and spent the night in sunglasses.  i didn't care.  i realized that no one else cared how i looked, either.  i'm sure no one wondered why i was overweight or why i had a red eye.  i stopped worrying about it too and genuinely enjoyed myself.

i was once considered a beauty.  i thought that facial paralysis was the worse thing to happen to me.  i was in a deep funk 6 years ago.   i felt that i lost my looks and yet i had a new grandson and that kept me happy.  i survived cancer and that should be a joy always.  this is the second birthday since i became cancer free.  i am going out tonight with the family to Tiberius for my birthday.  i hope that there isn't any last minute surprise party for me.  i just want to get out for a bit, have a milkshake or frozen yogurt and breathe the sea air.  i am pretty tired but that's par for the course.

Epilogue:  it's 1:30 a.m. in the holy city of zefat.  just got back from the birthday outing in tiberius.  it ended well but it was rough going at first.  we didn't leave zefat until 10:00 p.m.   i was so paranoid that people were coming over to surprise me.  i finally calmed down when i saw my son dressed in bermuda shorts and a sports cap.  the kids were so excited but it was hard for them to deal with the car ride.  it was pretty warm and humid there and my son didn't feel well.  we sat overlooking the lake and had some ice pops.  i had a frozen coffee.

we walked over to some cafe/bars.  they were packed with american kids.  we finally sat outdoors in a cafe/bar and the cigarette smoke was getting to me.  the music was blasting and it was a bit of an endurance test at first.  we finally ordered our food and both the service and the food was good.  i felt like having a cocktail but it was very pricey.  we had pizza, spaghetti and a huge salad with fried halomi cheese.  my son ordered a large ice cream sundae, which we all tasted.  no one had any room left to really eat anything more.  the kids were running around but the place emptied out around midnight so it was fine for them to be free.

we got home pretty fast.  i am truly stuffed.  i ate almost the entire pizza by myself.  it will be strange to be alone in the house tomorrow.  the kids may sleep in hadera.  it's all a challenge.  i offered to pay for the meal but the kids wouldn't let me.  it was a nice evening.  of course, i feel like i burdened the kids by asking to go out but we did and we got home safe and all is well in our universe.  of course, we think about the 3 kidnapped boys even when we are having a good time.  we are always hurting for them and their families.